Burchard of Worms

Burchard of Worms (950-20 August 1025) was Bishop of Worms from 1000 to 1025, succeeding Franco of Mainz.

Biography
Burchard was born in Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire in 950, and he was ordained as a deacon by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz and then as Primate of Mainz. In 1000, after the death of Burchard's brother Franco of Mainz, Burchard was appointed Bishop of Worms by Emperor Otto III of Germany, and he inherited a city which was in disrepair and which was often attacked by wolves and robbers. Burchard oversaw the rebuilding of the city wills, built several monasteries and churches, and engaged in violent conflict against Otto I of Carinthia, whom he accused of housing the criminals. While he was a Christian bishop, he adopted the pagan practice of charms by allowing women to wear "diviners" as charms.